Schedule Release?

The league couldn't just use North, East, South, etc because it would call too much attention to how badly the NHL screwed the Florida teams in the realignment.

The two southernmost teams in the league are in what is essentially the Northeastern division.

I just shook my head when I saw the Panthers and Lightening in the same division as the two Northernmost teams in the Eastern conference, Montreal and Ottawa. Then right in the center of that abortion is the Metropolitan blob.

If you're referring to my comments on Florida's division placement, I don't recall saying it was the end of the world. But they definitely got screwed.

Out west it's an inevitability that teams will have long travel. In the east that's less the case. The Florida teams closest division rival is further away than at least 5 or 6 teams in other divisions. Doesn't this map seem a little odd?

I didn't say you said it was the end of the world. I was referring to the naming of the conferences.

I'm not saying the plan is perfect, but again, tell me what works better? The NHL is going to give preference to rivalries like Pitt/Philly, NYR/NJ, Montreal/Toronto, etc. The New York area teams are all within like 100 miles of each other (or less), why would they split them up? The longest trip the Panthers have is to Montreal, only 3 hours and 30 minutes. It isn't that much more time than a flight to Philly, and a little over an hour more than a flight to Raleigh.

If they were moved to the Central division then all of their games would be out of their time zone, which they probably wouldn't have liked either.